It’s tough enough to change your career direction, but when trying to do it as an expat, it can be overwhelming. An expat is a person living temporarily or permanently in a country other than the upbringing of the person.
It’s obvious that conquering your fears is the first step in this process. After all, you are moving out of your comfort area to face entirely new surroundings. The unknown may intimidate many. The unknown can in some instances, it implies taking a step down the career ladder and landing a lower-level job. When you are faced with challenges such as language barriers, lack of professional connections, and diminished awareness of the sector in which you work, it is possible to lose track of where your career is going.
Whether you’ve just arrived in your desired country for work, or you’re planning on relocating, the primary thing on your mind is getting a job. An expat career change can bring career change challenges to a new level. Read the stories of others expats that have changed their career successfully.
I believe it is essential to allow for change. There have been quite a few for me, but out of all the changes – although I remained in the arts, I have evolved and found new levels of thinking, creating and facilitating others.
My first job was as a Bank Clerk in Lisbon. I still remember the branch manager being very surprised and wanting to talk to my mom once I told her that I wanted to quit. It was very kind of her to do that because she also had kids my age and didn’t want me to make a wrong decision that I would later regret. But it was nevertheless funny that she wanted to talk to the mom of a grown-up man.
I discovered that I could adapt quickly to new environments and could work with people from different backgrounds while communicating successfully with everyone. Being a multipotentialite allows me to perform a variety of roles throughout the day, and push my boundaries.
For me, what is also incredibly important, and it is also one of my biggest motivations is to set a good example for my children. I don’t want them to stay in a career that doesn’t suit them, just because it is well paid. I wanted to teach them to follow their dreams and to live a good life, full of meaning and accomplishment. The only way to teach them that is to do it myself.
The dance luminary Jurgen Schneider, our master teacher and also a Ballet Master at American Ballet Theatre, told me I was a born teacher. I resented this because I wanted to perform first, then teach. I also thought many teachers I had seen were bitter ex-dancers or bitter dance lovers who never got to perform. I did not want o become like that!
Imagine running something in between a marathon and an obstacle race every day of the week, five days a week. It is a very demanding physical job that in time can affect your physical health.
Even if I was enjoying the job, I was open to new opportunities. The airline office had an opening for a PR Manager role and I decided to apply, as the role was relevant to my studies, and I got the job.
I worked seven days a week, taking every overtime possible, trying to save money to be able to invest. After 18 months I opened my studio in London. It was really scary. I didn’t know anyone in the area, and I was worried about how to get my first clients.
I have been an airplane pilot and instructor for about four years. I was based in Texas, USA. The main pro is that I was paid to do what I loved, and I never felt tired or bored doing it. Probably because I was too young at that time (in my twenties), I couldn’t realize there were cons. Today I can see as cons being so far away from my family and working very long hours.
